Before I leave I would like to take the opportunity to talk about some ways this program could be improved in the future. It is not my goal to complain about the trip or the program, far from it, but the program is not perfect and perhaps there are some simple ways to enhance the trip.
While I really appreciate all the unique things we got to experience during this program, sometimes the days were a bit too long. I would be in favor of cutting out some minor sites so that we could have more time to properly reflect on the things we have seen. It is sometimes really difficult to write a good reflective journal on such a long day. Not only is there so much to be said, but the fatigue is sometimes a hard beast to fight.
Perhaps part of the above problem could be solved by giving us a consistent free day every few days or so. Sometimes we just need time to catch up! Before coming on this trip I assumed that car rides would be the perfect time to get homework done, but unfortunately I (and many others) were battling nausea. A consistent free day (or simply more free days) would help us keep everything under control. Perhaps we could add some more time to the trip in order to accommodate these days.
On the same note, as a student I found it challenging to keep homework and such under control when I wasn't really sure how I was doing in the class. I think consistent feedback from the Professors concerning grades would be really nice. Sometimes the expectations were a bit murky. Part of this confusion is just a natural part of a short trip like this, but some concrete feedback every week or so would help direct us students to the right path.
I also feel like there were some cities we stopped in that were kinda unnecessary. While I liked having a free day in Ismir, perhaps it would be better to have a free day in a city we've already toured (such as Hieropolis?). I liked having a beach day, but Marmaris was not my favorite beach. It felt very crowed. Maybe we could choose a new location for a beach day?
One of the things I loved about Turkey was having the same tour guide for the entire trip. It was really great getting to know Cenk throughout the trip. This is one of the things we missed as we got to Greece. Perhaps next year we could try to get the same tour guide for the entire trip to Greece.
With that said, I would also like to comment on some things I really appreciated about the trip. I loved that we had such a small group, and I love the active learning environment that is involved with a trip like this. I loved all the places we visited with the exception of the two mentioned above. I am still in shock over all we've seen in such a short amount of time.
One thing about this experience which was quite amazing is the integration between all the different sites. We didn't just look at a site, shrug our shoulders, and move on to the next one. We were challenged to look at each of the different sites and how they relate to each other. Like all the BIC classes I've taken, this trip is an integration of learning.
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